Rubio dismisses report on UK halting intel sharing over US strikes in Caribbean

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday dismissed a report claiming that the UK has stopped sharing intelligence with Washington over concerns about US strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.

I’m not going to go into great detail other than to say that it’s a false story,” Rubio told reporters after a G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Canada.

When asked about reported European concerns that the strikes may violate international law, he said: “I don’t think that the European Union gets to determine what international law is. They certainly don’t get to determine how the United States defends its national security.”

“The United States is under attack from organized criminal narco-terrorists in our hemisphere, and the president is responding in defense of our country,” he added.

Rubio also noted that European allies “want us to send nuclear-capable Tomahawk (cruise) missiles to defend Europe” but somehow object when the US positions aircraft carriers in the Western Hemisphere.

CNN reported that British officials believe the US strikes, which have killed at least 76 people since September, breach international law.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk called the attacks “unacceptable” and urged an independent investigation into the “extrajudicial killings.”